Casar seeks backing for diverting trucks
Tuesday, March 24, 2015 by Mark Richardson
City Council Member Greg Casar is sponsoring an item on the March 26 Council agenda to formalize the city’s support for HB 594 and SB 270. The bills, filed by state Rep. Celia Israel (D-Austin) and state Sen. Kirk Watson (D-Austin), would direct the Texas Department of Transportation to provide reduced tolls for large trucks along the state-owned portions of State Highway 130 in an effort to divert traffic from I-35 through Austin. Casar said TxDOT studies have shown that previous toll discounts have increased truck traffic on SH 130 by as much as 45 percent. In 2014, I-35 in Travis County was ranked as the second-most congested roadway in the state and the most congested roadway for truck traffic in Texas. Casar’s resolution is co-sponsored by Mayor Steve Adler and Council Members Leslie Pool, Ann Kitchen and Sabino “Pio” Renteria.
Join Your Friends and Neighbors
We're a nonprofit news organization, and we put our service to you above all else. That will never change. But public-service journalism requires community support from readers like you. Will you join your friends and neighbors to support our work and mission?
